But, Some Are. (RE: "Not All Who Wander Are Lost") Part IV

By the time you read this, I am most likely in Virginia Beach with some friends. This trip was more planned than my Hard Rock Cafe road trip. There are four of us and we are riding in a car together. Four. Of. Us. I really enjoy being on the road with nothing but my thoughts and a great playlist. When you travel with three other people, however, you have three other brains coming up with thoughts and three other playlists, leading to a lot of arguments over whose music choices are the least tolerable. The upside is that you have others to take over driving duties from time to time and, if you brought ear plugs, you can attempt to nap through intolerable playlists.

I suppose I'll write about VA Beach when I get back, but let me move on to the exciting conclusion to the Hard Rock Cafe road trip.

This posting is a continuation of earlier postings. Read those first:
Part I
Part II
Part III

(The itinerary)



Sixth Leg: Cleveland, OH to Pittsburgh, PA. 134 Miles. 2 Hours.

By now, the iced over water bottles in my little cooler weren't even cold. There was enough lunch meat left for another sandwich, but it was warm and so I threw it out. Then, I got back on the road.

I followed the GPS directions to Northfield Park, OH, which was just about 25 minutes outside of Cleveland, to the Northfield Park Rocksino (Rock + Casino).





I didn't stay very long. Basically, I parked, went inside, found the Rock Shop, bought my pins and left. The people working at the Rock Shop were kinda cool, but on the low end of that. They were far from being super ool. They asked me if I collected the pins, which opened up an entire conversation about my random road trip. I told them about each cafe that I had been to and how much money I've spent on pins. They didn't really seem very impressed and after thanking them I thought about how crazy they must think I am. I'm sure Hard Rock employees aren't nearly as enamored by their pins as I am.

I got back on the road and headed for Pittsburgh.

(A Honda Fit with the license plate: MIZZ FIT)

(Back into mountainous regions)

Since I had slept in my car the night before, I decided to get a hotel. Mostly, I wanted to take a shower. I don't know how hippies do it... ya know? Not showering.

I used Priceline and ended up in a real cheap Motel 6 just outside of Pittsburgh. It had a shower and an incredibly uncomfortable bed. I probably would have slept better in my car...

Anyways, by the time I showered and changed it was 8 o'clock and I was starving. My plan was to go downtown and eat at the Hard Rock. I'd sit at the bar and hang out. Then I'd check out Pittsburgh's other nightlife. Sort of like what I did in Detroit.

Things did not happen to go quite like that.

Pittsburgh's Hard Rock Cafe isn't exactly downtown. It's across the river from downtown in what was advertised as a happening spot with restaurants and shops called Station Square. Cool, I thought. I went there seeking out stuff and happenings. It was completely dead.

Granted, it was Sunday... but Monday was Labor Day. If this was Saratoga, it would be popping. There were very few people walking around. I parked in a parking garage that was a block away from Hard Rock. The garage advertised $2.50 for each hour with a limit of $10.00. Which seems to be pretty much the norm for city parking. At that point, I didn't think I'd be sticking around the area very long, so I didn't even bother looking for a cheaper place to leave my car.

I walked to the Hard Rock Cafe, passing two restaurant/bars that were closed... at 8:30pm... "so, this is going to be an exciting night," I thought. At Hard Rock, I asked if I could sit at the bar. I was asked if I was there for the band. I said, no. They said it's a $15 dollar cover to sit at the bar because they had a reggae band tonight. Being a musician, I'm cool with cover charges for venues that aren't also restaurants. I mean, if I want to go see a band, I'm prepared to pay for a ticket to see a band. If I want to eat, I am not prepared to pay for a ticket to see a band. I asked if I could listen and then decide if I wanted to stay for the band or not. They said I could not and offered to give me a table outside on the patio. It would be a 20 minute wait. There were two people at the bar and one table (out of about twenty) that actually had people at it inside where the band was NOT YET playing. So... six people paid 15 dollars, ate, and bought drinks and that is more money than if you filled up all 20 tables and the seats at the bar with people who would eat and buy drinks? Sure...

They took my phone number to text me when my table was ready. I went to the Rock Shop and the employee there complimented my fedora. I bought two pins and went off to find a bar to eat at. I walked around the strip. There was a Houlihans that was completely deserted and a pizza place. I was starving and wanted more of a meal than a slice of pizza. There were two very upscale restaurants -- so upscale that they even had valet parking services -- however, I was under dressed for those places, despite wearing a very classy hat.


When I got my text, I went back to Hard Rock. I was led through the restaurant to get to the patio. There were no more people inside than there had been 20 minutes ago and the band was still setting up. I probably could have eaten and had a couple drinks before the band even went on. Oh well.

The patio, which was behind Hard Rock, was pretty cool and I was shocked to find that there were actually people there.




The fountain was really cool. It was going regularly with white lights, but every once in a while, the lights would go down and the fountain would stop. Music was playing and it would stop as well. Then a new song would play, and the fountain would start up again with different colors. The fountain, colors and all, was synchronized to the music, like this:





I made friends with two women who were celebrating the one's birthday. They were wasted. But, I took some pictures of them and they took one of me. Then, they started texting and stumbled off.



I had asked my server where the cool places in Pittsburgh are. She said that on a holiday weekend, people wouldn't be out. After I had my fill of the fountain, I walked a block over to where there was a huge incline and a train (?) thing that went up and down the incline to move people up and down, I guess. A gondola? Maybe? I don't know. I rode it up and down just to get a view of the city.





I didn't see anything that told me, "come here!" So, when I got back down, I went to my car. I decided to drive to two other areas of Pittsburgh that I had read about online. East Carson St. was, as advertised, about five blocks of nothing but bars and clubs. It was sort of like a dirty Caroline St. (Saratoga). Nothing but skanks and bros, looking barely 21 (many looked under 18!).

This was far from my scene, and adequately resembled what can only be referred to as a "Shit Show," so I headed to Downtown Pittsburgh. While I was driving in that direction, I missed an exit and took a wrong turn that took me back towards my hotel. The GPS was slow redirecting me and I missed two more exits that I could have taken to get Downtown. At this point, I was closer to my hotel and wasn't really excited anymore about being "out," so I changed my destination to the Motel 6 and called it a night.

Last Leg: Pittsburgh, PA to Broadalbin, NY. 473 Miles. 7 Hours.

I woke up around 9 o'clock, packed up the Honda Fit, and headed for Broadalbin.

(Welcome to NY)

I took I-90 North, which ran right along Lake Erie. Around lunch time, I decided to get off the highway and look for food near the lake. I figured there would be some quaint little diner or something on the lake. I found Dunkirk and "The Smallest Irish Pub in the United States," where I grabbed a sandwich for lunch.




When I reached Broadalbin, I took this picture of myself. I had realized some time before I had stopped for lunch that I wasn't happy. I had been happy for the whole trip, but at that point, I wasn't. The math was pretty simple. I was happy when I was going... going to new places with new cities and things and neon lights at night. When you're going, there are endless possibilities. I was unhappy as soon as I started driving to Broadalbin. (*Note: I'm no longer able to lie to myself and others. Broadalbin is "the place where I live;" it is not "home.") The only reason why I live in this particular place is because I work nearby. So, my job is why I live where I do. (True, I have family and friends nearby and that's great, but they all have their places that feel like home to them and whatever is making those places feel like home to them is not doing the same for me.)


(Sobering thought selfie)

On Tuesday I returned to work, where the possibilities are very much the opposite of endless. "Work, the world of finite possibilities." I did not find any instruments or rock memorabilia there. There were no ferris wheels or gondola trains. There were no waterfalls and no lakes. No random buskers and no neon lights.

There was, however, a note I had left to my coworkers:


I don't really know where home is. Part of me felt at home in my car with my thoughts. There is a romantic dream that I have of driving around and playing guitar at various places. Is that home? I don't know.

All I know is that I won't be doing any road trips like this for a while. Between this one, the Virginia Beach trip, and being out of work for almost two months back in April and May, I'm pretty broke...

Final Stats:

974 miles traveled. On average, 31 miles per gallon. 4 Days. 6 Cities. 7 Hard Rock Cafes. 15 Pins.

Food: $92.39
Gas: $186.11
Tolls: $34.85
Lodging: $205.71
Parking: $27.50
Fun Things: $69.78
Pins: $156.31
Rock Hall Gift Shop
(shirts for my niece and nephew plus 1 pin for me): $37.77
Total: $810.42

Kind of a lot of money spent. I know I could have saved by not staying in a hotel in Niagara Falls. I could have gotten away with not buying some of the pins. I could probably have shaved 200 dollars off if I had been more frugal. Even so, I'm glad I splurged where I did. I really enjoyed myself overall.

(The City Pins, 7)

(The Dr. Who set from Toronto)

(Other City pins)

There are no Hard Rock Cafes in VA Beach.

The End.



PS -- Don't forget to swing over to my store and get your FREE download of Count on Me (for Rain)! Click here now.